How long have the dry valleys been dry? A review on the landscape evolution history of the Dry Valleys, Southern Victoria Land, Antarctica.

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Date

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Thesis Discipline

Science

Degree Grantor

University of Canterbury

Degree Level

Postgraduate Certificate

Degree Name

Postgraduate Certificate in Antarctic Studies

The Dry Valleys of Southern Victoria Land, Antarctica make up one of the oldest landscapes
on earth. The question of the precise age and mode of landscape formation is essential to the
understanding of past East Antarctic Ice Sheet Behaviours. There is evidence from buried
desert pavements and in situ volcanic ashfalls that suggest that the dry valleys have remained
in a hyper arid polar desert state since the middle Miocene 15 Ma. Contrary to this finding
there is evidence from the Sirius Group Diamicts that suggest glaciaition occurred far later
than this in the Pliocene (between 3.2 – 2.4 ma). These contradictory findings have created a
polarised debate about landscape evolution and past ice sheet behaviours.